WikiLeaks: US diplomats sent uranium on airliner in a diplomatic bag

Share via

Uranium-238, used in nuclear facilities, is also known as depleted uranium but is still radioactiveGetty

Richard Lloyd Parry

Last updated at 11:51PM, December 12 2010

American diplomats secretly sent uranium on a commercial airliner, in
violation of US government rules about the abuse of the diplomatic bag
system, and laws governing the air transportation of hazardous materials.

The metallic powder was sent from the US Embassy in Burma, according to a
cable published by WikiLeaks.

The document, signed by a senior US official in Rangoon, states that Burmese
authorities were unaware of the shipment. Under international agreement,
cargo sent in a “diplomatic pouch” cannot be opened, or even X-rayed, by
host countries. However, the shipment violated State Department and Federal
Aviation Administration rules, that bans